gaeran jjim (steamed egg?)

yeah, yeah, yeah... i know we're not supposed to be eating eggs with the salmonella scare and all. but i say, as long as you're being safe, washing hands, not feeding children or elderly, and cooking thoroughly... live dangerously!

i don't know about you, but for me, gehran jjim is like comfort food. my grandma used to make this for me all the time. this isn't her recipe, more like her recipe on steroids. but give it a try, it's really yummy!

what you'll need:

a small stone pot (you can substitute this for a shallow sauce/saute pan)
eggs
water
green onions
red pepper flakes
saeujeot --salted baby shrimp (you can substitute this for salt)
sesame oil
black pepper (optional)
toasted sesame seeds (optional)

actually, all of the ingredients are optional. you can actually just make it with salt and eggs only. or salt and eggs and green onion only. it's up to you! or you can just not add the eggs and not make it.

i didn't have my camera with me, so i took all these pictures with my phone.

also, like a true korean ajummah, i don't measure out my ingredients. i dont really know how much i put. it's just... an estimate

start by whisking together equal parts egg and water. (i know this picture shows two eggs, but i used 3)

dice up a small spoonful of salted shrimp (i added about half a tsp but since this is your "salt" you can add more or less depending on how salty you want it)

add about this much sesame oil. this is how i always measure my sesame oil: i draw 1 1/2 - 2 circles really quickly to whatever i'm cooking. *shrugs*

this is a regular dinner spoon 1/2 filled with red pepper flakes. add more/less depending on how spicy you want it.

toasted sesame seeds (these don't look very toasted...)

not pictured, but dice up a green onion and throw it in there too!

barf. jk. this is what it looks like after you add everything. i also added a bit of black pepper to taste! mix it all up.

cover the pot and cook on medium to medium-low until you start smelling it. then you know it's almost done. its about... 10-15 minutes? why am i asking, i'm the one writing the recipe

when it's done, it'll be somewhat firm, like jello. here, i took out a big spoonful to show the consistency. as you can see, all my ingredients floated to the top while cooking. sometimes this happens, sometimes it doesnt. *shrugs*

it's not that photogenic, but i promise you it tastes darn good!

inspired by (but definitely not) the gorbals

if you watch top chef, then you know who chef ilan hall is. and if you're like me, then you don't. i got the chance to meet and learn all about chef ilan during a friend's birthday dinner at his restaurant, the gorbals. my friend was dying to meet him (to put it lightly) but when he came out, she had gone to the restroom. i had been gushing about the corn all night so i snatched the opportunity to ask him how he made it.

and now i'll share the recipe with you!

ingredients:

1-2 cloves of garlic (depending on the size)
1 shallot
1/2 stick of butter (you can probably use less than this)
corn on the cob
paprika (this is optional, depending on if you want a little spice in it)
salt
pepper
green onions

preheat the oven to 350 degrees. stick in your corn (with husks!) and roast for about 30-45 minutes.

this is not how your corn should look when it's done. it should actually have some browned spots. if you have a grill it'll probably work better.

meanwhile, combine the rest of the ingredients except the green onions in a food processor... and... process? scrape the mixture into a ziploc/saran wrap and freeze.

when the corn is done, remove the husks and, with a knife, cut off the kernels. take the frozen butter mixture and grate onto corn with cheese grater. add chopped green onions to garnish. mix it all up with a spoon and serve! (note* depending on how much corn you have, you'll probably have some butter mixture left over. just freeze it and use it again next time)

notice, i didn't add green onions.

the result? it definitely wasn't as good as it was at the gorbals. there were a couple of reasons: 1. i didn't roast the corn long enough 2. i didn't roast the corn on a grill 3. i don't have a food processor 4. i didn't have a cheese grater 5. i think he used a different type of butter and 6. i'm not a chef.

here's an idea on what to eat it with!
oven roasted broccoli with garlic and shallots

oven-fried chicken. it's amazing how yummy and crispy boneless skinless oven-fried chicken can be.

mochi cake

i saw this on cindy's blog and i knew i wanted to give it a try. it's really simple to make and really yummy!

i changed a few things on the recipe, but it still ended up tasting really good. i didn't have white sugar so i substituted it for brown, which is also why my cake turned out a bit brown. also, i figured the mochiko flour would be sweet so i put less sugar than the required amount.

here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 lb box mochiko flour
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 14 oz cans coconut milk (not lowfat)
5 eggs
1/4 cup of butter melted and slightly cooled
1 tsp of vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all your dry ingredients separately from your wet ingredients. Pour dry ingredients slowly into wet and mix all together. Pour batter into a non-stick 9x13 baking pan. Bake for 90 minutes or until cake pulls away from sides of pan. I baked mine for around 75 minutes so I suppose it depends on your oven.

The result? Slightly chewy, slightly moist. Not quite cake, not quite mochi but super yummy. I think you could actually put less sugar and it'll still be yummy.

these are a few of my (un)favorite things

guess what's for dinner!

om nom nom... NOT!!! OMG... eorijseawelkseasjsasdf. that is the sound i'd make if i saw one of these out of it's cage. it reminds me of when i saw a cockroach in my room. i sat on my bed for a good 15-20 minutes AFTER andrew sprayed the thing with like half a can of bug spray. i still wonder how it got in... *shudders* my worst fear is that i sleep with my mouth open and a bugeotothoeithrughdrgh aughh. can't even finish the sentence.

oh hello, you look like a leaf.

go to la natural history museum if you want to see these, and more, for yourself.

onigiri

a couple of us went to see moulin rouge at an outdoor theater a few weeks ago. i thought it'd be fun to make onigiri to eat during the movie... and it was!

it's easy too, just make rice, let it cool. dissolve some salt in water and wet your hands as you shape the rice and stuff it with whatever you want. then wrap some nori around it. and that's it! for this one, i mixed some furikake with the rice. inside is tuna mixed with sriracha and japanese mayo. oishii! (please disregard the chipped nail polish... and stubby fingers)

c and e

a couple of weeks ago, my sister, brother in law and the kids came to visit:

c being silly

so happy

getting a bath from halmuhnee

tiny fist

headless child

i love this picture, andrew took it.

tiny feet

i think it's so funny when she looks down

july 4th... a month later.

i know this is super late... but oh well!

i decided to be festive this year by making mini pies:
it's super easy. you start with ready made pie crust (i think i used pillsbury) and you fill it with whatever you want. they have canned pie filling at ralphs, or you can make your own. just add fruit of your choice, brown sugar, lemon juice, and some type of starch. on a different note, for some reason this picture makes me look like i have seven fingers...

don't be like me and use brown sugar. brush your pie crust with melted butter and WHITE sugar

i really shouldn't cook with nail polished hands... in case they chip! gross...

wow, some of them came out really deformed! but they were the perfect portions =) plus you can make them beforehand in teeny jam jars and freeze and cook them right in the jars. (use a brand like ball)

we had a bbq with corn,

kabobs,

the best salad ever! and ribs (i couldn't get a good picture of them... =( but they were good!)

afterwards, we completed the night by lighting some LEGAL fireworks and when those ran out, we watched some fireworks my neighbors were lighting


what a fun day!